SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-106.01 2006 AO-51 Field Day Configuration AMSAT News Service Bulletin 106.01 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. April 16, 2006 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-106.01 This year, AO-51 will be setup in dual FM repeater mode, allowing for two usable FM repeaters from the satellite. The FM repeater utilizing the transmitter on 435.300 will be open to all users. The FM repeater utilizing the transmitter on 435.150 (normally reserved for BBS operations) will be reserved during Field Day for QRP stations only, as has been the common practice when this mode runs on AO-51. Please note the information on the mode configurations and QRP requirements. FM Repeater #1 for all Users: Downlink: 435.300 mhz FM Uplink: 145.920 mhz FM FM Repeater #2 for QRP Users ONLY: Downlink: 435.150 mhz FM Uplink: 145.880 mhz FM AO-51 ECHO LOW POWER STATION (QRP) REQUIREMENTS: To attempt to keep this simple, a low power station will be defined as a station which can deliver no more than 10 watts to a vertical or handheld antenna. These are some examples of Low Power Stations: * Using an HT (barefoot, no amplifier) with 10 watts or less output into any type of vertical whip antenna (rubber duck, etc) or handheld beam antenna (arrow type). * Using a mobile station with 10 watts or less output into car mounted mobile whip antenna(s). * Using a base station at 10 watts output into a vertical omni-directional antenna on the side of the house. Examples that are NOT Low Power Stations: * Any type of high gain beam antenna, KLM, M2, Cushcraft, etc. * Any station transmitting over 10 watts into any type of antenna. [ANS thanks Mike, KE4AZN, for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-106.02 Software Defined Transponder Demo at Dayton AMSAT News Service Bulletin 106.02 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. April 16, 2006 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-106.02 Inside the AMSAT booth at the Dayton Hamvention this year will be a working Software Defined Transponder (SDX) like the one aboard the Eagle satellite. The transponder will be operating on 2M and 70cm at low power. Jim Sanford, WB4GCS, the Eagle Project Manager and other team members will be at the booth a great deal of the time to answer questions about Eagle. Other Eagle modules will also be on display, as well as a cubesat. Any AMSAT members interested in helping for a couple of hours at the AMSAT booth during Dayton are encouraged to email wa4sxm@amsat.org [ANS thanks Gould, WA4SXM, for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-106.03 AO-51 Operations Committee AMSAT News Service Bulletin 106.03 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. April 16, 2006 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-106.03 Mike Kingery, KE4AZN, reports that, due to a heavy business workload, he has decided to move away from being the chair or an active member of the AO-51 Operations Committee. Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, will take over the leadership of the committee. Mike notes that, "with Drew's previous participation in the group, he will do a good job in reforming the AO-51 Operations Committee." Mike continued, "We have discussed ideas on how to improve the committee based on our past experiences and I will continue to support Drew and the committee until they are up and running smoothly". More information about the AO-51 Operations Committee will be upcoming in future ANS bulletins. Mike concluded, "I hope everyone will support Drew in his efforts to reorganize and revitalize the AO-51 Operations Committee." [ANS thanks Mike, KE4AZN, for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-106.04 ARISS Status - 10 April 2006 AMSAT News Service Bulletin 106.04 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. April 16, 2006 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-106.04 1. Robert McQueen Contact Successful On April 4, Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, spoke with students from the Robert McQueen High School in Reno, Nevada for his 37th and final ARISS contact. He answered twenty questions from 20 students as a group of 30 students, teachers, and parents gathered around the radio. Media coverage included one radio and two television stations. 2. Escola Americana do Rio de Janeiro Contact Successful On April 5, Brazilian astronaut Marcos Pontes, PY0AEB, participated in his first ARISS contact with students from the Escola Americana do Rio de Janeiro in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Students were able to have 17 questions answered. Audio is available on the following website: http://www.space-multimedia.nl.eu.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=191&Itemid=2 3. Escola Camilo Castelo Branco A second contact was scheduled for Marcos Pontes, PY0AEB, with students at Escola Camilo Castelo Branco in Carnaxide, Portugal. Originally planned for Thursday, April 6, and rescheduled for Friday, April 7, the contact did not take place due to Pontes' heavy work load. 4. Expedition 12 Makes Final Contacts On Saturday morning, April 8, Bill McArthur continued to make several general contacts - even at the very end of his mission. He spoke with stations in the U.S., Cuba, Venezuela and Puerto Rico. McArthur, Tokarev, and Pontes returned to Earth later that day at 7:48 pm ET. McArthur has been the most active astronaut ham ever on board the ISS and the Amateur Radio community is very grateful for his participation in the ARISS and general contacts. 5. ARRL Article on Bradley, Briar Hill School Contacts On April 5, ARRL ran a web story on the Bradley-Bourbonnais and Briar Hill school contacts. To view, "Fixing a Flat, Playing the Didgeridoo: Kids Get Answers from Space via Ham Radio," see: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2006/04/05/1/?nc=1 6. ARRL Article on Expedition 13 ARRL posted an article on the handover activities of Expedition 12 and 13 crews. To view, "Bread and Salt: Two-Ham Expedition 13 Crew Arrives Safely on ISS," go to: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2006/04/03/1/?nc=1 7. ARRL Confirms All 50 States Worked The ARRL has received QSL cards (postcards confirming contacts) from all 50 states that Bill McArthur worked while on board the ISS. An honorary Worked All States certificate will be awarded to Bill on his return to the U.S. 8. ARISS Chairman Gives Presentation to Packrats On April 1, the Mt. Airy VHF Society, better known as "The Packrats," one of the oldest Amateur Radio societies in the world, celebrated its 50th anniversary with a dinner that was attended by ARRL President Joel Harrison, the ARRL EVP, the Atlantic division director, and other ARRL dignitaries. A Nobel Laureate (K1JT, VP Packrats) and VP Engineering (immediate past VP Packrats) were also present. ARISS Chairman and AMSAT VP of Human Spaceflight, Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, gave a talk on ARISS and AMSAT. His presentation generated much interest in communicating with the ISS and satellites. 9. Brazilian Hams Thrilled with Pontes' Contacts Brazilian astronaut Marcos Pontes made a few general contacts while on board the ISS. One contact in particular made headlines. Fabiano Moser, PY5RX, was fortunate to be able to talk with Pontes. His chat with the astronaut made headlines, and he was interviewed by three television stations and at least one radio station, promoting Amateur Radio. The Gazeta do povo article may be found at: http://canais.ondarpc.com.br/noticias/parana/conteudo.phtml?id=551799 To view one of his television interviews, see: http://canais.ondarpc.com.br/tvparanaense/paranatv/noticia.phtml?id=41867&video=1 [ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI for the above information] /EX